A Portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. I, Henry Lo, the copyright owner, have no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the PTO patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The invention is offered under trademark xe2x80x9cJoker Wild 7 Card Thrill.xe2x80x9d The invention is a seven-card-stub poker game, played with at least one but preferably one standard poker deck of 52 cards, plus at least one but preferably one xe2x80x9cJoker.xe2x80x9d The Joker can be used as any card. Two or more but preferably seven players may participate in the game. One of the players is the Banker whom other players play against. A Player who is not a Banker may play Poker Bet playing against the Banker""s hand and/or one to seven side bets betting on the contents of the Player""s own hand. After at least one wager is placed, each Player and the Banker are each dealt seven cards. From each Player""s seven cards, each Player selects and keeps his or her best 5-card poker hand and discards two other cards, which are treated as two discards; i.e., from the Player""s seven dealt cards AAK9754, AAK97 is the Player""s best 5-card poker hand and 54 are the two discards; from the Player""s seven dealt cards QQJJ655, QQJJ6 is the Player""s best 5-card poker hand and 55 are the two discards. From the Banker""s seven cards, the Banker selects and keeps the Banker""s best 5-card poker hand and discards two other cards.
POKER BET is a bet that allows a Player to place a wager playing against the Banker""s hand. The object of Poker bet is to have a best 5-card poker hand that outranks the Banker""s best 5-card poker hand. In the Poker Bet game, the Player""s best 5-card poker hand is compared to the Banker""s best 5-card poker hand according to traditional poker rankings, wherein hands are ranked in descending order as follows: 5 of a Kind, Royal Flush, Straight Flush, 4 of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, 3 of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair and High Card. Ace is the highest High Card, following by King, Queen, Jack, Ten, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2.
A Poker Bet wager can be settled with either one of the following rules:
Rules 1: If the Player""s best 5-card poker hand ranks lower than the Banker""s best 5-card poker hand, this wager loses. If the Player""s best 5-card poker hand ranks the same as the Banker""s, then the two hands tie and this wager neither wins nor loses. If the Player""s best 5-card poker hand ranks higher than the Banker""s, this wager wins and is paid Even Money (1 to 1), less a certain percent commission, preferably a 5% commission.
Rules 2: If the Player""s best 5-card poker hand ranks lower than the Banker""s best 5-card poker hand, the Player""s Poker Bet wager loses. If the Player""s best 5-card poker hand ranks the same as the Banker""s, then the two hands tie and this wager neither wins nor loses. If the Player""s best 5-card poker hand ranks higher than the Banker""s, this wager wins, and either is paid Even Money (1 to 1) if the Banker""s losing hand is xe2x80x98notxe2x80x99 King-Jack or lower (i.e., KJ987 is a King-Jack hand and QJ876 is a lower hand than a King-Jack hand), or is paid one half of the wager (1 to 2) if the Banker""s losing hand is King-Jack or lower.
Rules 3: If the Player""s best 5-card poker hand ranks lower than the Banker""s best 5-card poker hand, the Player""s Poker Bet wager loses. If the Player""s best 5-card poker hand ranks the same as the Banker""s, then the two hands tie and this wager neither wins nor loses. If the Player""s best 5-card poker hand ranks higher than the Banker""s, this wager wins, and either is paid Even Money (1 to 1) if the Banker""s losing hand is xe2x80x9cnotxe2x80x9d one of the predetermined hands that pays the Player""s winning Poker Bet wager one half of the wager, or is paid one half of the wager (1 to 2) if the Banker""s losing hand is one of the predetermined hands that pays the Player""s winning Poker Bet wager one half of the wager.
Rules 4: If the Banker""s best 5-card poker hand is xe2x80x98notxe2x80x99 one of the predetermined qualifying hands, such as hands of King-Ten or better, hands of Queen-Jack or better, hands of Queen-Ten or better, or etc., this wager is a tie and it neither wins nor loses. If the Player""s best 5-card poker hand ranks lower than the Banker""s and the Banker""s best 5-card poker hand is one of the predetermined qualifying hands, this wager loses. If the Player""s best 5-card poker hand ranks the same as the Banker""s and the Banker""s best 5-card poker hand is one of the predetermined qualifying hands, then the two hands tie and this wager neither wins nor loses. If the Player""s best 5-card poker hand ranks higher than the Banker""s and the Banker""s best 5-card poker hand is one of the predetermined qualifying hands, this wager wins and is paid Even Money (1 to 1).
Rules 5: If the Banker""s best 5-card poker hand is xe2x80x98notxe2x80x99 one of the predetermined qualifying hands, such as hands of Ace-King or better, hands of Ace-Jack or better, hands of King-Queen or better, or etc., this wager wins and is paid one half of the wager. If the Player""s best 5-card poker hand ranks lower than the Banker""s and the Banker""s best 5-card poker hand is one of the predetermined qualifying hands, this wager loses. If the Player""s best 5-card poker hand ranks the same as the Banker""s and the Banker""s best 5-card poker hand is one of the predetermined qualifying hands, then the two hands tie and this wager neither wins nor loses. If the Player""s best 5-card poker hand ranks higher than the Banker""s and the Banker""s best 5-card poker hand is one of the predetermined qualifying hands, this wager wins and is paid Even Money (1 to 1).
SIDE BETS are bets that allow Players to bet on the contents of their own hand. A Player""s side-bet wager wins if the Player""s best 5-card poker hand is one of the predetermined winning hands of the type of side bet he or she bets on, regardless of the outcome of the Poker Bet wager; and this wager loses if the Player""s best 5-card poker hand is not one of the predetermined winning hands. There are seven side bets and they are: Pair Of Aces Or Better Bet, Two Pair Or Better Bet, 3 Of A Kind Or Better Bet, Straight Or Better Bet, Flush Or Better Bet, Full House Or Better Bet and Bonus Bet.
PAIR OF ACES OR BETTER BET: A Player""s Pair Of Aces Or Better Bet wager wins if the Player""s best 5-card poker hand is a pair of Aces, Two Pair, 3 of a Kind, Straight, Flush, Full House, 4 of a Kind, Straight Flush, Royal Flush or 5 of a Kind; and this wager loses if the Player""s best 5-card poker hand is not one of the above winning hands. Pair Of Aces Or Better Bet pays Even Money (1 to 1) on any one of the above winning hands. Alternatively, any other appropriate payout odds can be used.
TWO PAIR OR BETTER BET: A Player""s Two Pair Or Better Bet wager wins if the Player""s best 5-card poker hand is Two Pair, 3 of a Kind, Straight, Flush, Full House, 4 of a Kind, Straight Flush, Royal Flush or 5 of a Kind; and this wager loses if the Player""s best 5-card poker hand is not one of the above winning hands. Two Pair Or Better Bet pays Even Money (1 to 1) on a hand of Two Pair, 3 of a Kind, Straight or Flush, and pays 3 to 1 on a hand of Full House, 4 of a Kind, Straight Flush, Royal Flush or 5 of a Kind. Alternatively, any other appropriate payout odds can be used.
3 OF A KIND OR BETTER BET: A Player""s 3 Of A Kind Or Better Bet wager wins if the Player""s best 5-card poker hand is 3 of a Kind, Straight, Flush, Full House, 4 of a Kind, Straight Flush, Royal Flush or 5 of a Kind; and this wager loses if the Player""s best 5-card poker hand is not one of the above winning hands. 3 Of A Kind Or Better Bet pays 4 to 1 on any one of the above winning hands. Alternatively, any other appropriate payout odds can be used.
STRAIGHT OR BETTER BET: A Player""s Straight Or Better Bet wager wins if the Player""s best 5-card poker hand is Straight, Flush, Full House, 4 of a Kind, Straight Flush, Royal Flush or 5 of a Kind; and this wager loses if the Player""s best 5-card poker hand is not one of the above winning hands. Straight Or Better Bet pays 5 to 1 on any one of the above hands. Alternatively, any other appropriate payout odds can be used.
FLUSH OR BETTER BET: A Player""s Flush Or Better Bet wager wins if the Player""s best 5-card poker hand is Flush, Full House, 4 of a Kind, Straight Flush, Royal Flush or 5 of a Kind; and this wager loses if the Player""s best 5-card poker hand is not one of the above winning hands. Flush Or Better Bet pays 11 to 1on any one of the above winning hands. Alternatively, any other appropriate payout odds can be used.
FULL HOUSE OR BETTER BET: A Player""s Full House Or Better Bet wager wins if the Player""s best 5-card poker hand is Full House, 4 of a Kind, Straight Flush, Royal Flush or 5 of a Kind; and this wager loses if the Player""s best 5-card poker hand is not one of the above winning hands. Full House Or Better Bet pays 28 to 1 on any one of the above hands. Alternatively, any other appropriate payout odds can be used.
BONUS BET: Either one of the following games can be selected for the game of Bonus Bet:
Game 1: A Player""s Bonus Bet wager wins if the Player""s best 5-card poker hand is Straight, Flush, Full House, 4 of a Kind, Straight Flush, Royal Flush or 5 of a Kind; and this wager loses if the Player""s best 5-card poker hand is not one of the above winning hands. The winning wager is paid according to the pay table below:
Alternatively, any other appropriate pay table can be used.
Game 2: A Player""s Bonus Bet wager wins if the Player""s best 5-card poker hand is Flush, Full House, 4 of a Kind, Straight Flush, Royal Flush or 5 of a Kind; and this wager loses if the Player""s best 5-card poker hand is not one of the above winning hands. The winning wager is paid according to the pay table below:
Alternatively, any other appropriate pay table can be used.
After reading their cards, each Player places his or her cards face down on the appropriate spaces of the table layout. The dealer then reveals the Banker""s six remaining cards, selects and keeps the Banker""s best 5-card poker hand and discards two other cards, and settles each Player""s side-bet wager(s) first if any, then the Player""s Poker Bet wager if any, against the Banker.